Prunepicker
11-03-2013, 10:12 PM
From The BBC (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-24794970)
A collection of 1,500 artworks confiscated by the Nazis in the 1930s and
1940s has been found in the German city of Munich, media reports say.
The trove is believed to include works by Matisse, Picasso and Chagall,
the news magazine Focus reports.
Some of the works were declared as degenerate by the Nazis, while
others were stolen from or forcibly sold for a pittance by Jewish art
collectors.
If confirmed, it would be one of the largest recoveries of looted art.
Investigators put the value of the works at about one billion euros
(£846m; $1.35bn), Focus said.
Tax investigation The magazine said the artworks were found by
chance in early 2011, when the tax authorities investigated Cornelius
Gurlitt, the reclusive son of an art dealer in Munich.
He was suspected of tax evasion, and investigators obtained a search
warrant for his home in Munich.
A collection of 1,500 artworks confiscated by the Nazis in the 1930s and
1940s has been found in the German city of Munich, media reports say.
The trove is believed to include works by Matisse, Picasso and Chagall,
the news magazine Focus reports.
Some of the works were declared as degenerate by the Nazis, while
others were stolen from or forcibly sold for a pittance by Jewish art
collectors.
If confirmed, it would be one of the largest recoveries of looted art.
Investigators put the value of the works at about one billion euros
(£846m; $1.35bn), Focus said.
Tax investigation The magazine said the artworks were found by
chance in early 2011, when the tax authorities investigated Cornelius
Gurlitt, the reclusive son of an art dealer in Munich.
He was suspected of tax evasion, and investigators obtained a search
warrant for his home in Munich.